Tallinn City Council elects new mayor
Tallinn City Council voted to elect Isamaa's mayoral candidate Peeter Raudsepp to the position on Monday, where he will serve two years in a power-sharing agreement with the Center Party.
Raudsepp received 46 votes in favor. At least 40 votes were needed to be elected. A total of 74 council members participated in the vote. He joined Isamaa last week.
At Monday's session, the council also voted in the new city government.
The Center Party's deputy mayors are Monika Haukanõmm (culture and sports), Tiit Terik (public order, urban planning, city property), Andrei Kante (education), and Joel Jesse (transport).
Isamaa's deputy mayors are Riina Solman (social affairs and health) and Kristjan Järvan (municipal services and entrepreneurship).
The city council will hold a second session, where the council's second deputy chair is expected to be appointed.
At last week's session, the council elected Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart as council chair and Isamaa member Sven Sester as the first deputy chair, but the election of the second deputy chair was postponed.
District governors for Tallinn's city districts have not yet been appointed. According to the coalition agreement, the Center Party will nominate candidates for the districts of Haabersti, Kesklinn, Lasnamäe, Pirita, and Põhja-Tallinn, while Isamaa will nominate candidates for Kristiine, Mustamäe, and Nõmme.
The council also decided that the chair of the city council will hold a salaried position. This means the salary of council chair Mihhail Kõlvart is currently €9,616 per month. The salary is indexed annually on April 1 to the highest salary rate index stipulated by the law on the salaries of top public officials.
The two deputy chairs of the council will receive compensation equal to 50 percent of the deputy chair's salary rate, which amounts to just under €4,100 per month. This compensation will also be indexed on April 1 to the highest salary rate index under the same law.
In the 79-member city council, the Center Party holds 37 seats and Isamaa holds 11. The opposition in the Tallinn City Council consists of the Social Democrats (17 seats), the Reform Party (eight seats), and the Parempoolsed (six seats).
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Helen Wright
